magnet18

I have the front end shakes

It was terrible when I got the truck a couple months ago, old rusty unbalanced steel wheels.
I got new wheels, things got *much* better, but not totally gone

Current behavior: shaking at highway speeds, depends on wheel speed not engine, seems worse when gently turning, might have a couple inches of play in the steering wheel (could be my imagination).
edit, worth noting, if I let go of the wheel, she goes straight as an arrow, even when braking.

I found this: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/f...-guide-231095/
(for a taco but seems like solid advice)

Things are pointing to steering, so today I jacked up the passenger side and tried out his advice.
The up/down (noon/6) had no movement, upper and lower ball joints also looked very good, boots in good shape grease still in there.
The side side had a little bit of movement. The writeup says "significant play" but I'm not sure what that means exactly.
video :

Is this too much?
Where should I be looking?

I've never messed with steering before beyond basic ball joints.

Thanks

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

To check your steering you want both front wheels off the ground .

What is wrong with Steel wheels that is about all I run on my Toyota 4 X4~s from the eighties.??

You don`t mention tires ??

Vibration at a certain MPH really points to unbalanced tires or balanced for a lower speed then you drive who balanced the tires ??

That much play in the steering wheel maybe steering shaft parts worn out.

Does your Steering Damper still work ??

magnet18

Nothing wrong with steel wheels, what's wrong is they were darn near rusted through

Discount tire did the balance on the wheels, they also said that the tires look great

I'll look into the steering damper and can try the test again with both wheels up when I get a chance

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The Idler Arm on the passenger side is prone to failure. As old as these trucks are and most have the original parts still on them, I just replace the complete front end. Idler Arm, Tie rod ends, Ball joints, Adjuster Sleeves and sure there is a piece or two that I am missing. On the 86-95s, I get most of my parts from Rockauto and seems like the last one cost me about $250 for all the parts if I remember correctly. The Relay rod is expensive and usually does not need replaced in some cases but check it real well.

Some front end shops will give a free or cheap diagnosis in some cases. It is hard to tell in your video.

gandude

the idler arms do go out. The cheapies at Auto Zone will not last very long but they do have a lifetime warranty. Steering boxes, Ball Joints, bushings, tie-rods, have a limited life. Toyota parts last a long time here so most are not changed but they wear out too.

I am in the process of replacing everything suspension wise including springs. My steering box has too much play as well, which will show up at various wheel speeds and vehicle harmonics as a wobble.

magnet18

Thanks for the help

anyone have any luck rebuilding the idler arm or steering box, or is it not worth it?

magnet18

So I've seen a few posts about rebuilding with metal bushings, but it looks like they only fit the second gen?

I don't see any metal bushing options for the first gen?
Is it worth putting a second gen arm on, or just rebuild with stock first gen plastic ones?

Thanks

Andy A

Check the idler arm really good before buying anything, if it is the ball end that has gone bad there is no fixing that and the arm will have to be replaced. If it is the bearings on the shaft then those should be fixable. Either Toyota or you might try http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml he has a number of different bushing for various different arms, 86- 95.

Charchee

Those front end parts are cheap and easy to replace but try this first. I learned this from listening to Click and Clack and it has saved me a ton of trouble over the years. Take your front wheels off and put them on the back. Drive it and see if it gets better or worse. A tire can have a bad spot in it that a balancing machine can't feel because the surface of the tire is not on the ground. Slack in the steering is a sign of a worn steering linkage part. The shakes are a sign of bad tires, wheels or possibly a wheel bearing but you would be able to hear it and would surely catch it if you shake the tire with it off the ground. If a wheel bearing is making one shake, its in really bad condition.

magnet18

Thanks for the help all, I just bit the bullitt and ordered a Pro-Forged 102-10045

even if it is the tires, almost 200,000 miles I might as well replace it anyway. if the plastic bushings ever go out I can order the bronze ones for it from http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/IdlerArm.shtml

will let you know how it turns out, if it's not that or tires, looks like steering box is next on the list?

Thanks

Andy A

The Pro-Forged arms seem to be a good choice, one of the few out there which still have the larger shaft, according to the research 4crawler has posted on his website. From your video it definitely looks like your existing idler arm is toast but it is hard to tell if it is the ball end or the shaft bushings or possibly both. I picked one up recently off of Amazon and they appear to be well made and on the one I received it has a zerk fitting on the side so you can grease the shaft. I went thru a couple of the FA 5040's in a very short period of time, but it was always the ball end that failed and not the shaft bushings, hopefully after rebuilding the front end the Pro-Forged one will last longer. Good luck.

Cheers

magnet18

Took it over to my father in laws and had him look it over/drive it
In his opinion, lil play in the pitman and idler but not enough to worry about, tie rods and ball joints look good, shaking is not enough to worry about and probably just a result of sticking big tires on it

We took a bit of slack out of the steering box with the screw and that fixed that, back to the toyota recommend 1" at the edge of the wheel rim, feels better

Guess I'll order a pitman arm and an ome stabilizer and put it on the roundtoit list